my love for all things elegant, classy & fresh

Food Endeavors-Bruschetta

October 13, 2010

I can’t say that I’m some expert chef, actually I can’t even say I cook much at all, but every now and then I feel daring and experiment. Cooking is something that I would love to become better at, and plan on sharing with you all through Class Act. My first post a few days ago mentioned how I made bruschetta. Since I had extra tomatoes left over yesterday, I decided to make some more and my family was absolutely in love with what I cooked.

Over the summer, my aunt made a delicious bruschetta and roasted the tomatoes on the grill. I remember thinking much the flavor of the tomato was enhanced and exploded with juice when I took my first bite. I decided for my own bruschetta that I would roast the tomatoes in the oven. First I sliced them in halves, and spread them out evenly on a pan. (Don’t forget to wash them before doing this step). Then, I added olive oil, sea salt, a bit of black pepper and a pinch of oregano to the pan and mixed the tomatoes together with the ingredients. The oven was preset to 325 degrees and ready to go by the time I was done mixing everything together. I let the tomatoes marinate in the olive oil mixture for a few extra minutes before I popped them in the over for 20 minutes. (Depending on your oven and how fast it cooks, 20 minutes seemed to be like the perfect time after I experimented for 2 days).

While your tomatoes are in the oven, start prepping your bread. I sliced half of a loaf of bread into generous portions that was already seasoned with rosemary and sea salt. When the tomatoes had 10 minutes left to cook, I opened the oven up and shook the tray to flip them around, making sure that they all cooked evenly. After this, I took my bread and headed out to the grill. Carefully place your bread on the grill in neat rows and flip often to ensure an even golden brown on each side. It will take about 4 minutes, and by this time you tomatoes will be about done.

Once your tomatoes are finished, grab your oven mit and carefully remove the tray from the oven placing them on a drying rack to protect your counter. (If you have granite surfaces like mine then don’t worry about ruining your counter tops, place it right down!) Generously fill your grilled bread pieces* with juicy tomatoes and sprinkle with a dash of salt, oregano, and black pepper. Drizzle a little more olive oil over your bruschetta and your ready to munch!

*The second day I decided to rub garlic on my bread before adding the tomatoes-it really made a difference and I highly recommend trying it!*